Nearly all of the food and fibres used by humans are produced on soil. Soil is also essential for
water and ecosystem health. It is second only to the oceans as a global carbon sink, with an
important role in the potential slowing of climate change. Soil functions depend on a multitude
of soil organisms which makes it an important part of our biodiversity. Nevertheless, soil in
many parts of Europe is being over-exploited, degraded and irreversibly lost due to impacts from
industrial activities and land use change, leading to soil sealing, contamination, erosion and loss of
organic carbon. Due to these problems, legislation for the protection of soils has been proposed at
EU level.